Count the Seconds In-Between
by NatD-LE
Summary: Isabella consoles a young Chiara during a storm in the middle of the night with an old method. Nyotalia Spamano Human AU drabble thing.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or Nyotalia.**

**More nyotalia spamano with more of a boss/chibi element to it. I once read a story about a girl using this specific method to calm herself down during a storm. I've done it myself and it's a good way to pass time.**

**Note: 'one elefantes, two elefantes, etc' is the spanish variation of 'one mississippi, two mississippi, etc'**

**Note 2: Sophia = fem!Austria**

* * *

It was the middle of the night. Everyone in the house was drifting off into slumber, falling into rest easily. It has been a hot and lazy day where everyone resorted to light clothing. Even then, skin was sticky with sweat. Now, the air had picked up and windows were opened to allow some cool air.

Sometime in the night, the pitter-patter of rain started up. Following that, a rumble of thunder. No one noticed the storm yet, until a particularly loud _boom_ sounded. "ISABELLAAAA!" The young girl's voice reached down the long hallway to the ears of the house's owner. Isabella's green eyes shot open, staring blindly into the dark corners of her room. There was a flash of light from underneath her curtains that helped her eyes adjust. Just when she realized what had woken her, another boom rumbled outside and her name was called again.

She groaned and pulled a pillow over her head. Isabella was used to being woken early some days for breakfast, but the sun wasn't even up yet! _This is not happening,_ she thought angrily. She waited for a moment, hoping the child fell back asleep. No such luck; she screamed out her name again. Isabella sighed heavily and climbed out of bed to make the long walk to her young charge's bedroom.

Chiara had only been living with the young Spanish woman for a short time, as a part of a deal she made with Sophia when she couldn't handle caring for Chiara AND her little sister at the same time. Isabella has come to think of the child as her younger sister. The affection is only somewhat returned by the little Italian girl, but after some time, she grew to trust Isabella. Before that, times were quite difficult for the two.

Isabella rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she gently opened the door to Chiara's room. The lightning flashed from the window and lit up the bump in the middle of the bed, covers swaddled around it except for the head. "It's about time you showed up!" Chiara ranted to her caretaker.

"Chiara…" Isabella sighed and closed the door behind her. "What's wrong?" At that moment, the thunder caught up with the lightning and the room even shook a little from the rumble. Chiara yelped and trembled.

"I-It's loud! Make it stop, damn you!" she tried to sound demanding, but her voice faltered. Isabella smiled in understanding and walked over to the child. She sat down beside her, crossed her legs, and rubbed the small back through the covers.

"Shh, niña. It's just thunder. Don't be scared." She tried soothing the panicked Italian.

"I'm-i'm not scared!" Chiara huffed, throwing the covers away with a stubborn pout. Outside, there was a small crackle and then another loud _BOOM_! She screamed and dived onto Isabella's lap. "MAMAAA!" she cried into the young woman's chest. The Iberian woman wrapped her arms around the child and held her close, hushing her and murmuring soothing things to her. She calmed a little, but the storm continued; she kept a tight hold on her caretaker for comfort. Isabella pursed her lips in thought.

"Hey, Chiara, would you like to play a game?" She wondered. The Italian girl quickly rubbed her eyes free of little tears before looking up, trying not to look as curious as she was.

"Depends. What game?"

"My mama taught it to me. We wait until the lightning flashes and start counting— one elefante, two elefante, three elefante, and so on— until the thunder strikes. Then, we wait for the next one. If you count longer, then the storm is moving away. If you count shorter, the storm is getting closer."

"That sounds like a silly game." Chiara frowned, slightly disappointed, but Isabella wasn't fazed.

"Wanna try it?"

"Mm… I guess we could." She mumbled. Isabella smiled and picked Chiara up slightly to adjust her position and put the Italian back on her lap with her back pressed to her chest, both of them facing the window.

"We'll count together, okay?" Chiara nodded and they waited until they saw a flash. "Go! One elefante, two elefante, three elefante, four elefante…" They counted in unison until they reached 6 before thunder sounded. They waited for the next one and started counting again.

"…four elefan—" the thunder boomed, making Chiara's eyes widen. "Th-the storm is moving closer!"

"So it is." Isabella hugged the girl gently. "Let's try again. One elefante, two elefante—" More thunder, which made Chiara whimper.

"It won't… it won't hit us, will it?" she murmured fearfully.

"We're okay inside, niña. Let's keep counting."

"O-Ok." Chiara nodded and they waited until the next flash to count. "O-one elefante, two elefante, three elefante…" They made it to 9 this time, which made the child relax. They kept going with the game, even making it until 20. The last one, Isabella's voice faded as she neared 35 and smiled when all she heard was the rain hitting the roof.

"Hear that, Chiara? The thunder is gone now." She looked down at the girl to find her curled up in her lap, asleep. Ever so gently, she stretched her legs out and laid back, careful not to rouse the Italian sleeping on her. Isabella smiled and closed her own eyes, letting the rainfall lull her into slumber.

On the wooden surface of a bedside table, a small cell phone lit up and buzzed loudly. Isabella's eyes creaked open to glare at it for a moment before reaching over and reading the caller ID. She pulled herself up onto her elbows and flipped the phone open to answer the call. "Mmm hello?"

"_Hey, it's me._" A familiar voice answered.

"Hola, Chiara. Why are you calling so late?" Isabella yawned, noting the time to be 2 in the morning.

"Is it raining where you are?" The Italian woman asked. She was lying on her bed in her own small home, staring out the window.

"_Mmng._" Chiara chuckled a little at her sleepy friend. "_Yeah, a little. Why?_"

"It's storming over here." She informed the Iberian simply, a little red about her reason for calling. "It's keeping me awake."

"_Oh? That stinks._"

"Mmhm." She hesitated for a moment. "Do you remember the game we played when it rained? With the thunder and lightning?" Isabella blinked, now mostly awake, and smiled at the thought of those happy memories of their childhood before Chiara moved out.

"Mmhm, I remember."

"_Would you… count with me?_"

"Of course. You'll have to start; it's only raining here." Isabella laughed gently when the Italian muttered a few curses, but she thankfully complied. It was silent for a while as they waited.

"Okay." Chiara began when she saw a flash. "One elefantes…"

"Two elefantes" Isabella joined in and they counted together. They reached 10 until the thunder came. The next time around, it only got to 6. The numbers slowly got closer together, the storm having gotten so close that Isabella heard the thunder over the phone. But soon, it began to fade away behind Chiara and they stopped when Chiara could no longer see the lightning.

"The storm is gone, finally."

"_Good. With my luck, it'll come here and rain all day_." Isabella sighed. Chiara snorted, playfully mocking. They fell into a comfortable silence before it was broken with Chiara's yawn. "_Now that you can rest in peace, we should go to sleep. Maybe we could grab some coffee this week?_"

"That'd… that'd be nice." Chiara hummed, glad her former caretaker couldn't see the blush on her face. "Good night, Bella."

"Good night, mi querida." The phone clicked when the other line ended the call. Isabella sank back against the pillows and set her phone aside, listening to the rain as she drifted in and out of sleep. She smiled gently when, somewhere in the distance, she heard a rumble of thunder.


End file.
